DUSK: VOL. 1 is an indie vampire graphic novel that is more akin to say, TWILIGHT or BUFFY than, oh, say, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. It’s about a spunky vampire-sycophant who drinks blood and gains some self-esteem and works for them as an assassin. I think.
I say “I think” because DUSK — which is very well-written by David Doub, mind you — falls prey to the curse of indie comics: bad, indecipherable artwork. Black-and-white inks fill every page, at times too much, with blocky figures doing some sort of motion, but we’re not sure what. And I can’t fault author Doub: When you’re doing this off your own dime, you gotta work with what you can afford.
But, that just even begs this question even more: As talented a writer Doub is, why not just turn this into a novel? A collection of short stories?
Would I pick up DUSK: VOL 2? I don’t think so. But would I pick up a collection of stories featuring these characters? You bet. —Louis Fowler
